When a student was drowning in East Detroit High School’s swimming pool in November, a teacher in charge of the class was in the bleachers and went to a locker room to change into a bathing suit before trying to rescue the youngster, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith.

That’s one of the reasons why criminal charges were filed against the teacher, Smith said Tuesday.

Johnathan Lamonte Sails, 24, of Detroit, a contract substitute teacher, is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in 38th District Court in Eastpointe on one count of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $7,500 fine.

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“This is tragic but more importantly it certainly could have been prevented,” Smith said. “The inaction by Mr. Sails rises above normal negligence. It is a case of gross negligence.”

KeAir Swift, 15, was pulled from the pool on Nov. 8, 2013 by an assistant principal. He was rushed to St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit and died three days later after his family had him removed from a life support system. He was taking the swimming class to learn how to swim, family members have said.

Sails not only ignored students who told him there was a distressed teen in the pool, but he was wearing a jumpsuit when he should have had a bathing suit on and monitoring the swim class, the prosecutor said.

Furthermore, Smith said the teacher lacked the required certification to be teaching the class.

Under state law, a swimming monitor is supposed to be certified as a lifeguard, must wear swim gear in order to have fast access to the water, and must be in the immediate area of the pool in case of emergency. Sails lacked in each of those areas, Smith said.

Sails, who served as a track coach last year, has a permit to be a substitute teacher, according to the Michigan Department of Education. He earned a liberal arts degree at Wayne State University and had worked at the university as a student assistant.

Sails misrepresented his certifications to East Detroit officials, the prosecutor said. Sails was teaching the remedial swim class because the instructor who was supposed to teach it failed to renew his lifeguard certification, he added.

Smith said prosecutors considered filing charges against East Detroit Public Schools for not thoroughly verifying the certification, but found legal precedent for charging school officials.

“We tried to put together a case against East Detroit schools but we could not,” Smith said. “We believe the school district was negligent but we just couldn’t charge them.”

A statement issued by East Detroit Public Schools Superintendent Joanne Lelekatch did not address the prosecutor’s allegations of negligence.

“It would be inappropriate for us to speculate about the charges, and we trust that the justice system will appropriately address the matter,” she said in a statement.

Authorities said Swift had trouble in the pool and sank to the bottom during the class. Several students ran up to the bleachers to notify Sails, who was talking to a group of youngsters. Sails initially thought Swift was joking around, but then went to the locker room to change into a bathing suit.

In the meantime, a fully-clothed assistant principal who was in the pool area dove into the water and pulled the youngster out. Swift had no pulse by the time he surfaced, so the administrator began applying CPR. Eastpointe first responders arrived a few minutes later and took over the CPR before taking Swift to the hospital.

He was removed from life support a few days later and died.

KeAir’s mother, LaKisha Swift, could not be reached for comment Tuesday but in December told The Macomb Daily that her son took the course because he wanted to learn how to swim. She said he wanted to attend East Detroit High School to get a better education than he would have received in Detroit Public Schools.

“He was very outgoing and smart,” LaKisha Swift had told the newspaper. “He loved church. He went to church five or six days a week. He was a good boy.”

School officials on Tuesday said Sails was a long-term substitute who was employed by PESG, an outside firm that hires substitutes for East Detroit and other school districts.

In her statement, Lelekatch said KeAir will be missed.

“The East Detroit Public Schools continues to be deeply saddened by the death of one of our students,” she said. “When tragedies such as this happen, our focus remains on the student, his peers and the family.

“In his short time with the district the student involved earned the respect and admiration of his peers and faculty.”